It’s very well known that the 7.26 patch wasn’t well-received by the professional Dota 2 community.
The loudest of them all is the two times TI winner Sébastien “Ceb” Debs, who explained everything that is wrong with the current patch in detail. He also gave suggestions on what can be fixed with the future 7.27 patch.
“I’m not enjoying the meta at all. I think it’s really noob-friendly, and I hate it.”- Sébastien “Ceb” Debs
The most significant point that we could take out from Cebs’ rant was how much it wasn’t worthwhile for the mid player to rotate and get kills if the enemy mid laner stays and simply farms the lane.
Specifically, he mentioned that if the mid laner leaves the lane at level 5 and spends 2 to 3 minutes ganking side lanes, and even gets up to 4 kills during that time, the enemy mid laner would have earned more gold and experience for merely staying on the lane.
Of course, the Dota 2 community doesn’t appreciate this, especially those who are watching streams and betting on websites such as dota2-bet. People want to see kills, action, and fast-paced games. And they are not getting it in the current patch.
The 7.26 patch has a slow meta, the games are long, and split pushing is the most potent strategy.
Professional athletes have called this patch as the „zookeeper patch“ because the best heroes are those who can summon familiars, such as Beastmaster, Nature’s Prophet, and other heroes who buy Necronomicon book.
Jacky “EternaLEnVy” Mao showed in a couple of videos just how influential the Necronomicon book is, even on heroes that aren’t usually buying it in any kind of build.
Although the Necronomicon book can turn any hero into a zookeeper, Sébastien “Ceb” Debs insisted that it isn’t the only reason why it’s so good.
It is one of the rare items that will fix mana issues for heroes. Not only does it give farming potential, but it also provides strength, which is suitable for carry heroes, intelligence heroes, and even strength heroes.
Basically, the item is broken in the current patch. Every hero should buy it.
Is the 7.27 Patch Going To End the Zoo Meta?
Sébastien “Ceb” Debs isn’t just a complainer. He gave proper tips on what can be fixed in the next patch. Most importantly, he mentioned that Necronomicon book should be creating mana issues; for example, the cost of using it should increase. Additionally, the sage mask that is one of the best items in the current meta is a pre-requirement for the Necronomicon book. That should change as well to balance it out.
IceFrog himself took time to post on the official Dota 2 developer forums and informed us that we should expect significant changes in the upcoming 7.27 patch.
He gave no information on what those changes are going to be, but they will come soon.
IceFrog rarely posts, but we should expect the game to become more fast-paced, and the Necronomicon book to be nerfed in some way.
What are your thoughts about the current patch? Should there be drastic changes?